Jeff Zucker: Last News

K.J. Yossman All3Media has finally been sold. Redbird IMI has snapped up the production-distribution giant behind “The Traitors” and Jamie Dornan-starrer “The Tourist” from owners Liberty Global and Warner Bros.

The All3Media sale saga has drawn to a close after almost a year with RedBird IMI confirming the acquisition of The Traitors superindie from Warner Bros. Discovery and Liberty Global for £1.15B ($1.45B).

RedBird IMI, a joint venture investment firm led by Jeff Zucker, has taken a stake in The Morning Show production entity Media Res.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Martha Stewart didn’t talk to CNN for a new original documentary series the news outlet has produced about her. But she’s still the star of the show. “The Many Lives of Martha Stewart” is a four-part series produced by CNN Studios, a division devoted to longer-form and enterprise programming in the wake of a strategic decision made in 2022 to scale back big ambitions to compete in the documentary arena.

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav gave former CNN chief Chris Licht a warm endorsement, even hinting at the possibility that the TV news vet could work again with the company.

Jeff Shell, whose tenure running NBCUniversal came to an abrupt end last spring, is in advanced talks to join private equity firm RedBird Capital Partners.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Jeff Zucker, the former president of CNN and onetime CEO of NBCUniversal, is eying a push by right-leaning British newspaper The Daily Telegraph into the U.S. if his company’s bid to buy the title is successful.

Jeff Zucker, former head of CNN who now runs media investment fund RedBird IMI, believes the media is overplaying polls showing former President Donald Trump leading Joe Biden.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Dave O’Connor is exiting production company Majordomo Media to take over the reins of Time Studios as president. O’Connor will report to Time CEO Jessica Sibley, who announced his hiring in a memo to staff Monday.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Jeff Zucker‘s RedBird IMI investment company has bought a minority ownership stake in Front Office Sports, a media startup covering sports business. Front Office Sports claims that it has, on a monthly basis, “more than 150 million social impressions, 35 million newsletter opens, 10 million video views and 2 million page views” The company says it has more than 15 partners, which distribute its content on screens in more than 50,000 buildings and venues across North America. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director David Letterman relives his horrible “Airplane!” audition in the new oral history book, “Surely You Can’t Be Serious: The True History of Airplane!,” an excerpt from which was published on Entertainment Weekly. Letterman was brought in to screen test for the lead role of Ted Striker, ultimately played by Robert Hays. “He wasn’t an actor, but he was funny.

Anderson Cooper believes the storm has passed at CNN.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Rani R. Raad, a former president of CNN Commercial Worldwide, has been appointed CEO of Abu Dhabi-based media company International Media Investments.

Mark Thompson, the former CEO of The New York Times Co. and director general of the BBC, is in line to be named the next head of CNN, according to multiple press reports.

Don Lemon made his first extended comments since he was fired from CNN, telling podcast host Kara Swisher that he feels “vindicated” following the exit of CNN leadership after his departure.

Jeff Zucker was breezing through the Faena Hotel in Miami Beach when he spotted David Zaslav across the room. The former CNN chief was there on vacation on March 31, while the current Warner Bros. Discovery CEO was on hand for the Saudi-backed FII Institute’s Global Priority Summit.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Jeff Zucker is not shopping for CNN, according to one of the backing partners of his new media venture. Gerry Cardinale, the private equity player and founder of RedBird Capital, partnered with International Media Investments last year to launch a $1 billion media acquisitions engine run by Zucker. Reports were rampant in June that Zucker was looking to take CNN off the hands of Warner Bros. Discovery, after running the news network for decades before resigning in 2022 over a consensual workplace affair. “No,” Cardinale said on Thursday when asked if he and Zucker were looking to buy CNN, speaking on stage at the Variety and Sportico Sports and Entertainment Summit in West Hollywood. “I would not have the longevity that I’ve had if I ran my business running around town talking about deals in a way that’s, frankly, disrespectful to David Zaslav. I’m kind of amused and irritated by it.”

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor After spending months keeping CNN from expanding into streaming, parent company Warner Bros. Discovery appears to have changed its mind. Warner Bros. Discovery is exploring ways to get more CNN programing on to its Max streaming service, according to a person familiar with the matter, looking at the news outlet’s broader portfolio to see what content might work. Executives will have to navigate agreements with CNN’s traditional distributors that often require cable and satellite companies get first access to CNN’s live broadcasts. Yet CNN’s rivals have grappled with similar obstacles and found ways to repurpose the news and opinion shows they run. The Fox Nation streaming outlet runs Fox News Channel’s opinion programs a day later. Fox News in 2020 unveiled a new international service that puts its programs in countries such as Mexico and Spain. MSBNC in March of last year unveiled a plan to offer episodes of “Morning Joe,” “Deadline: White House,” “The Beat with Ari Melber,” “The ReidOut,” “All In with Chris Hayes” and MSNBC’s opinion programs on the Peacock streaming hub on-demand the day after they air on cable.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer It’s hard to remember a time when fashion and beauty commentary were not ubiquitous. When red carpet pre-shows for the Oscars or the Met Gala were not the norm, or before anyone with a TikTok or Instagram account could be an obsessive pundit on celebrity style. Steven Cojocaru was there, however, at the beginning of this sartorial saturation. The Canadian writer and TV host, now 50, hustled tirelessly in his early career to get legacy media to take style as seriously as he did. He became People magazine’s first West Coast fashion editor in 1997 and was the first out gay fashion correspondent for NBC’s “Today” during the highly watched Matt Lauer and Katie Couric era.

The abrupt yet not-all-too-surprising exit of Chris Licht from CNN is a bit of a relief for staffers who thought he was the wrong person for the job, but whoever succeeds him at the cable news network will face many of the same headwinds.